On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. IST, Bengaluru FC (BFC) will play Hyderabad FC (HFC) at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium to begin the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024–25 second matchweek.

The Blues are looking for their first-ever back-to-back wins against Hyderabad FC, having only triumphed twice in their previous ten ISL encounters. Hyderabad FC, on the other hand, will want to establish an early rhythm given that they have lost their first three ISL games in the last three seasons.

Although Vincent had a strong first half, he is still too young. He is talented, but he still has to work on a lot of his physical attributes, his moves, and his tactical awareness of the game. Together, we’ll endeavor to improve him even more. It was his first game at Kanteerava, where he was playing with guys like this and Sunil Chhetri and Rahul (Bheke), so he was anxious. After the ball, he was anxious. Afterward, there was one injury, which we hope is not too serious. And shortly he will be prepared to play once again,” ISL cited Bengaluru FC head coach Gerard Zaragoza as saying before the game.

Thangboi Singto, the head coach of Hyderabad FC, is hesitant to set goals for the ISL 2024–25 season just yet. He is considering the big picture and is hopeful that once the squad plays a few games, they will find the correct balance and start making progress.

“We want to improve over the previous season. We don’t want to establish goals right away. We want to start building immediately, so the next two to three games are going to be really important since certain foreign players still need to join the club. We will be able to see our goals more clearly after they join us and get to know us and vice versa, Singto said.

In this match, Abdul Rabeeh of Hyderabad and Vinith Venkatesh of the BFC are the players to look out for.

Vinith Venkatesh (19y 45d) of Bengaluru FC is the fourth youngest goal scorer overall and the team’s youngest goal scorer in the ISL. In the ISL, he is also the youngest player to score on his debut. This season, the Blues will be hoping that their academy graduate stays a reliable forward. Nikhil Poojary of Bengaluru FC is about to play his 100th ISL match.

Abdul Rabeeh, a 23-year-old forward, will be a key member of Hyderabad FC. Since the ISL’s inception in 2024, he has accomplished 53 long progressive carries, or carries involving upfield movement of 10+ meters, which is the third-highest total among all Indian players (Manvir Singh – 85, Jay Gupta – 62).